Hinsdale D86 Data Masks Bigger Disparity In Denials: Watchdog

HINSDALE, IL – A watchdog says Hinsdale High School District 86's latest data on course denials hides a bigger disparity that hurts Hinsdale South students.

A big majority of students' course requests are honored at both Hinsdale South and Central.

But South students are twice as likely to experience course denials as a result of scheduling conflicts, according to numbers released last week.

South reported 344 scheduling conflicts last year, compared with 337 at Central. Given that Central's enrollment is nearly twice South's, the denial rate is higher at South.

In an email to the school board Wednesday, Alan Hruby, a longtime watchdog over the inequality between Central and South, said the disparity in course denials is even worse than the district portrays.

Of Central's scheduling conflicts, 70 are in courses that don't run at South in the first place, Hruby said. Given its enrollment, South has a smaller course selection.

At South, 16 of the scheduling conflicts were in courses that are not running at Central, Hruby said.

With his numbers, Hruby excluded courses that are not running at both schools. By his analysis, Central reports one conflict for every nine students, compared with one for every 3.9 at South.

Last June, Hurby presented a similar analysis in an email to the board.

Patch left a message for comment with board members and the school's spokesman on Thursday morning.

In his June message, Hruby wrote, "It is axiomatic that the more courses that a school offers, the greater its potential for conflicts. It is also axiomatic that the fewer sections of a course that a school offers (as is the case at South), the greater the potential for conflicts."

He questioned whether South residents would sympathize with their Central counterparts over scheduling conflicts in courses that South students cannot take.

He said that if administrators succeed in hiding the disparity, they may "collectively fool" South families into thinking the conflict rates are comparable.

On Tuesday, the school board's Availability and Opportunities Committee met, in part, to review the latest numbers.

The committee's chairman, board member Bobby Fischer, twice acknowledged the higher denial rate at South.

But little was said in a 40-minute discussion about the disparity. Instead, members focused on issues in particular departments at the schools.

Fischer said he was more concerned with scheduling conflicts in core classes.

"I think we're more comfortable seeing the highest conflict rate with the child who doesn't get their PE class of choice than with the child who doesn't get their math class of choice," he said. "And it seems like you've accomplished that here."

Administrators presented written observations on the conflict numbers. They said most student course requests were filled, which they said indicated "alignment between student demand and course offerings."

The other observations mentioned trouble spots in particular departments at both schools.

Hruby and others in the South area have long contended that the district downplays the gap between South and Central.

Last summer, they gained an unexpected ally in the board's president, Catherine Greenspon.

Twice during board meetings, Greenspon said the administration manipulated its data related to the gap.

That was after the administration presented numbers that it said showed the district hadlargely wiped away course disparities between the schools.